Listen To THe Sound Of The Ashlands
by Red-Wild
Summary: The tale of the Nerevarines return to a changed Morrowind. set after the moments of the oblivion crisis.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"So you're planning to go through with it?" Sul-Matuul asked.

"Yes"

The old Ashlander sighed, his hand moving slowly against his withered face.

For a moment I began to pity the old mer. Age had paled his dark skin to the point that it was nearly like that of a imperial, his red eyes turning blank with his years. He was sitting near the centre of his yurt, his body in its squatted form somewhat resembling an old flower. But he still held his staff proudly, and carried his head high with grace. Well at least he did before I entered his yurt this cold Last seed morning.

"I would like you to reconsider" Sul-Matuul said. With a groan I sat down beside him, my fingers playing with the dusty floor. "I don't think I can this time my friend" I whispered, "I've been here for nearly 5 years, I've done a lot here but Morrowind....it just doesn't need me anymore.."

**Sul-Matuul slammed his fist against the ground, but I tried not to flinch, "don't be foolish Lord ****Nerevarine**" **he growled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "You have so much more to do here, Morrowind is your home, and it's where you're destined to be!"**

Sadly, I shook my head. "Everything will be ok Sul, I mean with you, Vivec...."

"Vivec is a traitor and a fool" He spat, "He should have had the decency to kill himself the day the others fell."

I shook my head and rose from the ground. "He has the best interests of Morrowind in mind Sul." I whispered. "The boat to Akavir will be leaving tomorrow... I have to be on my way."

"Nerevarine!" Sul-Matuul growled, "Morrowind needs you, please don't abandon her."

I opened my mouth to say something, but then I noticed droplets of water against the dusty floor. The old mer was crying.

My courage failed and without another word, I turned around and opened up the small yurt skin door, into the world beyond.

As I travelled along the coastline I began to feel the thud of my heartbeat against my throat, a feeling that had escaped me for so long, Excitement and adventure.

I suppose I should tell you a little of myself before I begin my true story, although most of it I'm sure you already know.

My real name is Furan Saris, and I was born in Highrock, according to the local priests there, my mother was an ashlander who fled morrowind, but since she died when I was born, I guess I can't really be sure. I was taken in by the local chapel of the nine divines, an experience that thankfully, I'll never go through again. I learned to read and write, but at the cost of my dignity. I was trapped there, at least until he came to see me.

A man arrived at our village one foggy morning, he was a mage, but one that was not connected to any of the local guilds. It was safe to say that he caused a bit of a commotion in the town. He used his magic to entertain, summoning ponies and warriors that arrived in a plume of fire, his mana stirring and creating wonders before my very eyes. I spent days begging him to take me on as an apprentice, as a means to escape this life. The old man, who saw my mana levels agreed.

We left, I learned what I needed to learn, but after less than 4 years my master caught a chill and died. Magic stopped being an idle fancy and more of a means to survive, I was skilled at illusion and acrobatics, which helped me pilfer items from some of highrocks finest. But one night I tried to steal from a mage and I was caught.

Beginning my journey to Morrowind, which started the story every dunmer child grows up learning, the tale of the battle of the red mountain.

To foreigners of our shores this is where the story of the Nerevarine ends, the oblivion crisis set in and people forgot about the land of the dunmer people.

But I think that it is time that I continued the story.

The story of when the Nerevarine returned.


	2. Chapter 1 part a

They have taken you from the imperials cities prison, first by carriage and now by boat, to the east, to morrowind. Fear not for I am watchful... you have been chosen.

The images return to me again, a sea of fire, with strange letters surrounding me, consuming me, drowning me, the last words are readable and they bring a chill to my spine.

Many fall, but one remains.

My eyes snap open, I wait there for a moment, I wait for Jiub to come up to me, I wait for the old dark elf to ask if I was ok... If I was... Then the future comes back to me again like a huge wave on the shore. I get up, I'm not wearing sack cloth clothes like last time, just a pair of leather greaves with 3 throwing daggers strapped to my chest, also I'm in my own room with its own bed, instead of just a night on the floor. But the rocking of a boat beneath my feet, the throbbing of my head and the confusion remain the same as I stared at the shadows that hung around the edges of my cabin, I couldn't even be bothered to light a candle.

Slowly the door opens with a crack and a scaly head pokes through the gap. "I heard screaming" it whispered in broken cyrodilic, I shook my head with a smile, "It's nothing Haeil..." I muttered, my hands rubbing against my eyes. Haeil chuckled and came in with a push of the door.

**Haeil was a ****Tsaesci, one of the fabled snake people of Akavir. He stood just under 3 meters tall, covered in thousands of purple and red scales, he had no legs, just one large spiraling tail and there was no armor whatsoever on his body, as was the akaviri custom, but he held a massive dai-katana on his back which more than made up for it in combat. He chuckled at me with a pair of golden eyes and stared at my bed.** "**I bet it was nothing" he said with a wheeze. "But are you sure that you aren't hiding a lady friend from the crew under your bed?" He smiled and I laughed. "You don't have to worry about that friend, it was just…nothing really." Haeil grunted to show he didn't believe me, but he let the matter drop. "Well it's time to get up then Furan" He sniffed, "We have another fine day of sailing ahead of us..."** **I nodded and pulled on a loose sack cloth shirt before following Haeil out of my cabin/** **There are certain moments in your life that you really make you appreciate it for what it's worth. My time on this ship was easily one of those times, imagine being surrounded by endless water, theres a shadowy purple in the middle of the night but when dawn breaks through, light shatters through the horizon bringing the sea to a rich tropical blue.** **As I walked along the deck some people stopped working for a moment to give me a small nod. It was pretty sad actually, we left morrowind all those years ago with about 92 people.** **41 dunmer, 29 imperials, 6 argonians, 7 nords and 9 bretons.** **But the months on the sea as well as the danger of the continent were harsh to us, out the 92 that left only 4 dunmer and a single nord survived. But Akavir was a strange place. Within weeks of landing on its shores we found entire camps of people who descended from tamrielic armies that were once sent to conquer parts of the continent in the name of the Septim family.** **We have about 41 crew members now out of 50, a mix of akaviri natives and some of the tamrielic people who wished to see the land of their ancestors.** **When we reached the top of the deck I smiled and took hold of the stern, the steering wheel of the ship. I could feel the waves through the wood of the stern as my mind plunged into my memories.** "**Boy…BOY!" I stop rubbing my head for a minute to look up. Before me is an elderly imperial, with a thick white beard and cold hard eyes. "Eh...sorry, I have a bit of a headache…" I whispered, squinting my eyes a little to see if it would help. "That's not his problem" a nearby guard growled, waving his sword toward me. The imperial nodded as he looked at me, his nose curled as if he had just smelled something foul. "Now the letter that preceded you mentioned that you were born under a certain sign… and what would that b…"** **A wave crashed against the hull of the ship, bringing me back. "Be careful Fur" chuckled Haeil softly, "I'm pretty sure that half the people on this ship can't even swim." **

"Neither can you" shouted one of the other sailors, an imperial who had his arms wrapped around the mast.

Haeil shrugged, "I don't have any legs, what do you expect?" Some of the crew laughed at this but I just pushed the stern silently beneath my fingers, "So we'll be in Tamriel waters in about a week?" Haeil nodded, I smiled to myself. "I wonder how much has changed..."


	3. Chapter 1 part b

Barrel hauling... imagine one of the most soul crushing jobs that you could possibly do, with the added bonus that every muscle in your body hurt afterwards. But seeing as there was less than half our original numbers on the ship at this stage, it was very important that we all did our part.

The barrels were made of wood from a tang-mo forest, with iron rivets dug deeply to stop them from falling apart. They were filled to the brim with spiced meats, biscuits, ale, everything that was just heavy enough to make me wish that I tried to build up my strength more during my time in vvardenfell.

As I moved another barrel, the wooden boards beneath me creaked from the strain as sea air and the spices from the below me made my eyes water.

"Are you ok?" said a voice behind me.

It was Rull-Ban, a tang-mo warrior who I met 2 years earlier when I was exploring the jungles.

She was just over 2 metres, her small brown head just poking over the barell that she was holding.

"I'm fine" I coughed dropping the barrel on deck, her green eyes flashing with concern.

"Maybe you should rest...." I shook my head softly, taking off my shirt to try to escape the beating sun above me.

Rull-Ban smiles with her monkey face,

"Who's..." My mind goes blank as the spicy smell rushes up my nostrils.

"Sadrith Mora" I whisper, the sound rolling off my tongue like an exotic fruit. I was standing on the top of Wolverine hall, the results of a successful levitation spell and the fact that one of the guards was passed out near the entrance...Imperials...you had to love them.

The waves crashed against the Cliffside, the salty air rising above me as I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

"Is this your first time here?" whispered a voice. I nodded and turned around. She was an Imperial,no more then 19 with a light pale face and dressed in netch leather armour. Her eyes, fierce emeralds seemed to cut straight through me as we looked at each other.

"How did you get up here lady?" I asked, my voice having a small bite to it that I didn't actually intend to show. The girl ignored it and pointed over to a part of the roof that dipped a little.

"Some good acrobatics skills and thanks to crappy imperial architecture..." She smiled and gave out her hand.

"I'm Abigail"

I took it and shook it.

"I'm Furan Saris"

She looked at me then and gave me a mischievous glance. "Well Furan Saris, I'm getting the impression that you are a man without fear..."

I frowned, where was all this coming from?

With a smile she pulled out a brown cloth sack... My eyes widened, it was my coin purse...but how did she...

"I picked your pocket when your back was turned" She smiled, Abigail nodded to the edge of the roof, it led straight down to the sea, with several jutting rocks breaking through the lashing waves.

"Let's see how fearless you are..." She whispered and without another word pushed herself off the edge and down onto the rocks below.

I stay there for a moment, shocked. But I looked over the edge and smile.

With a hesitated breath I ran before jumping off the edge.

I open my eyes and look over to Rull-Ban,

"Sorry, what did you say?" I muttered.

Rull-Ban looked over to my shoulder and pointed to my sweaty right arm.

"You have a tattoo there...Tell me, is she your mate?"

I look down on my arm to see it.

Abigail is written there in the darkest ink so that it gleamed brightly against my ashen skin.

I smiled.

"You could say that" I whispered.


	4. Chapter 1 part C

_I'm standing with my back leaning out towards the stern. I breathed in, tasting the crisp sea air in my mouth as the waves rushed and broke against the hull. All of a sudden I hear a shout from above. "Land Ho!"  
I turn around eagerly to be greeted by a miracle. Gone was the massive expanse of ocean, the endless days of blue. Akavir was there, looming like a sleeping beast that was waiting for us, that was waiting for me.  
We sent out a life boat toward the shore and I was on it, my heart was beating in my chest as the waves crashed and made the small boat bobble underneath us. The boat gave a little shudder as it reached the mainland .If my eyes could have talked they would have sung._

I was surrounded by a million different shades of greens, reds, oranges and yellows. Large purple fruits the size of a guars head hung from branches that were covered with leaves that had drawings on it so intricate that it seemed as if they were drawn by master painters; who's steady hand could not be matched by anyone alive or dead in Tamriel.

I breathed In the air that was heavy with itchy pollen spores, small creatures that moved to fast to see ran underneath the shadows of these great plants as myself and a handful of other crew man walked ahead. As We walked I felt the sensation of fresh water running up my legs as we walked through a small pond. The blue sky shone overhead as our patient guide until we saw them.  
There were no less than 8 of them, Tang-mo mothers, fathers and children. All of them were lying face down in the water as I noticed that the water I was in had turned a deep crimson red. The cause of it was in front of us as well.

It was U shaped and fiery red, the sky itself seemed to have succumbed to its crimson. Daedra that I had once fought in Morrowind and even some breeds that I had never seen before were pouring out wielding claws or barbaric weapons in their hands.  
One of the Tang-Mo children turned its head away from the water and looked at me with lifeless milky white eyes.

"Nerevarine" it whispered.  
"Wake up." The Tang-mo's voice sent a chill down my spine; I was helpless as the daedra surrounded me.  
"Wake up"  
"Furan!"  
_"Wake up"_  
"Furan, Wake up!"

I awoke with a jolt. I was lying on the floor, by the looks of it I rolled off my bed while I was dreaming. I was covered in cold sweat and it took me a moment for me to notice that I was breathing heavily.  
Above me was Haeil, who was panting heavily and looking at me with wild eyes. "Haeil...are you ok?" I muttered.  
Haeil shook his head and grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of the bed and out of the cabin. There was an uneasy feeling in my stomach as we walked. I had a bad feeling about this.

We reached the top of the deck within seconds, Haeil's powerful tail dragging the both of us up the steps with ease. When we reached the top of the ship I noticed them. They were argonians, standing just less than 2 meters tall, their slimy green scales gleaming in the sunlight. They all had a pair of sack cloth pants on them, with a different weapon attached to each of them.

One of them roared in a strange tongue and the others nodded. An argonian that held a daedric short-sword went forward, its yellow eyes scanning the crowd. It's hand hovering over its blade. "This ship is trespassing on our waters" the creature growled in broken cyrodilic.  
"I wish to talk to the captain now, or we will be sending this ship under the depths."

I stepped forward and raised my hand lazily. "That would be me" I muttered, drawing a throwing knife behind my back.  
The argonians looked at me with a thick sneer on his face, "Ash scum" it snapped before spitting at my feet. "You're under arrest, the part 17 of the caldera laws states that no dunmer can even work on a ship, much less captain one..."

I shook my head softly, "What's the Caldera..." I asked before being cut off by one of the argonians who drew a chitin shot-sword and leaped toward one of the crew mates, a female Tsaesci. With a growl I threw my dagger at the argonians, the blade catching it in the face before it had time to move toward me.  
The argonians looked at me in stunned silence, "Weapons!" one of them screeched, "The dunmer is carrying weapons!" The argonian leader looked furious as it drew its blade. "I order you to move onto our ship ashshit!"  
He spat while waving his blade toward me. I shook my head, licked my lips and extended my arms.  
I whispered the incantation faster than the other argonians could move, fire erupted from my palms as the consumed the small group of pirates their screams filling the afternoon air.  
I sighed softly, "At least that is over" I whispered before I saw the other argonian.

He was taller than the others as he walked from his ship to ours. He was wrapped in soft black robes that barely covered skin that was as black as shadow.  
The argonian looked over to his colleagues, now a pile of ash and then to me. "Very impressive dunmer" it whispered, looking at me with a pair of richly golden eyes.  
The argonian gave me a crooked smile,  
"So you are captain of a ship, you wield weapons and you use magic...That's 3 unforgivable offences you know" I looked up to the argonian with a glare. "Unforgivable offences to whom?" I asked.

The argonian looked surprised. "Why to the king of Black Marsh of course" He whispered.  
"You know, if you break one offence you are given a fine...two and you go to prison... three gets a death sentence..."

My eyes widened as a burst of fire erupted from the argonians palms, the blaze consuming the tiny wooden ship as the screams of my crew surrounded me.  
I tried to back away from the flames, I don't think I got very far as the last sensation that I felt was the cool smash of my body hitting against the sea.  
As I floated through the cold abyss I saw the Tango-Mo child again.  
_"Wake up Nerevarine" it whispered._

"Wake up"


	5. Chapter 1 part D

The waves crashed into my body, playing with it as though I was but a toy, tossing me in the magical powers are forgotten as I returned to the ocean with a large splash.  
Rain lashes against my bare skin like a dozen arrows but I'm too numb to care as I float with the waves. Wondering where was it wetter, out in the rain or in the sea.

_I'm a little over thirteen years old, I'm living in Cragmoor , a nice isolated breton village, the type of place where everybody knew everybody, their lives devoted to the nine divines, their lives exactly the same.  
Small stone cottages which everyone thanked the divine for because without the nine divines we wouldn't have the stone to build houses so we would have to live in the cold with the animals._

And whoever said otherwise was cast out.

It was the fourth of suns dusk, the frost of the morning nipped at my feet with the mercy of a wounded animal. I was in the chapel; the cold of the stone floor was even colder against my bare toes.  
"Furan" a voice snapped behind me. I turned to see her; an imperial with her skin withered and sour lips as she looked at me with those accusing grey eyes.  
"Good morning Sister Simana" I murmured. I Scuttled over to her.

My nose wrinkled. Thirteen years in this place isn't enough for me to get used to the smell of candlewax, the fatty vapors that always hung in the air like an unwelcome ghost long after mass of the over and the flames of the candle slain.

Mother Simana handed me a thick and tightly woven basket that was filled to the brim with bread.  
"Take these around to the houses" She said.  
"And don't cause any mischief!" I open my mouth to ask what possible mischief I could cause with a basket full of bread but then I remembered Mother Simana's birch, which she held beside her like a sword.  
Just waiting to be planted against the skin of my palms.

Shutting my mouth quickly I took the basket, turned around and began to walk away with the sound of my bare feet squeaking against the wooden floors. I walked slowly.  
Mischief gave you bruised palms but running in the chapel meant a night out in the cold.

The fog greeted me with open arms when I went outside, it hung along the ground like a silver blanket but my eyes widened as I scanned the horizon. A black figure was there.  
And it was moving toward me.  
I stare at him in shock as he approaches me. Strangers are rare to Cragmoor and this man really was strange. He was wrapped in a black cloak that covered his body and most of his face. A single bonemold pauldron protruded out of his left side.  
He was stranding straight with a ball of light in his hands before his shawl fell from his face, a face that I had not seen in a long time.  
"Master?" I whisper, tears coming to my eyes.

He opens his mouth to say something, but the words never leave his lips.  
His ruffled skin began to smoother and a rich gold like that of the Altmer, his mousey brown hair turning a stark white that grew until it ran along his black like a snowy waterfall.  
Piercing blue eyes escaped her mask, the black robes turning into a elaborate silver dress.  
The village vanished around me, it was replaced by a rich and beautiful garden.  
"Hello Furan" Azura smiled.

My heart catches in my throat. Looking around me I whisper, "Am I still in Tamriel?" the garden really was beautiful, with golden flowers and rich purple leaves.  
Azura shrugged "You are here, that is what matters...You have returned... And for that you have my deepest sympathy."

I look at her sharply but she smiles back that perfect smile.

A crackling reaches my ears as the world begins to dim, darkness surrounding me until all that I could see was that one perfect smile.


	6. Chapter 1 part E

Groaning softly.

I opened my eyes and looked around me. My arms were half buried in the sand and I felt terrible.  
My head was throbbing and my right arm was sore. Not the gentle irritation of a bruise but the cold stinging of an open wound.

Careful not to get any more sand into it, I pulled my arm out and looked down at it.

It was pretty badly burnt, charred black skin went as far down as my right hand with several deep cuts along it. I turned around a little and looked down further the beach. There was a figure moving along it, with its gold shining in the sun and it's tail in the sun I couldn't be mistaken.

"HAEIL!" I yelled. Waving my left arm toward him.  
Even though he was at the other side of the beach I could see his smile in my mind, like a gash in a piece of wood and a dozen sharp white teeth gleaming brightly in the midday sun.

"I thought you died in the shipwreck" He laughed with a wheeze. his golden scales gleaming.  
"Are you alr...oh" he whispered, looking at my arm.  
"It's nothing" I said, to be honest I was just happy that he didn't get killed on the ship.

Haeil looked at me with a grin.  
"You dunmer are too proud for your own good sometimes..." he said, taking a small medicine pouch off the belt that hung on his shoulders. "I lost my dai-katana" he mumbled softly as he worked.  
"If I see that argonian again I'm going to put him on a skewer."

-

"Stop being such a child" he growled softly as I squirmed.  
"You're sticking a damn needle into my skin." I muttered. Haeil laughed softly.

He began to wrap some seaweed along the more serious wounds.  
"I think that'll do it until we can get you to a healer" he sniffed, looking around him as if he had only seen it for the first time.  
"So this is Morrowind eh?"  
"yep"

-

"I just don't get it"

I roll my eyes for the hundredth time.

"They're argonians...what is there to get?"  
Haeil shrugged softly.  
"They look as if they are the offspring of a tsaesci and an imperial." He spat into the grass as if to get rid of a bad taste in his mouth.

"But you shouldn't really hate them" I laughed, "I mean you're practically..."  
Rustling  
I stopped.  
"Did you hear that?" I whispered quickly. Haeil nodded softly.

We barely had time to do anything before we heard something again.

"ARRRRRRRRRGH!"  
My eyes widen. Our attacker was a Khajiit, who flung itself out of the bushes with its short-sword moving wildly in its hands  
Haeil laughed and jumped at the Khajiit who stopped in its tracks when it noticed a snake beast nearly twice its size jumping at it. Haeil's tail moved quickly along the khajiits body finishing him off with a swift crack.

"That's disgusting" I said as Haeil stuck his fangs into the dead bandit's neck.  
Once he had drunk his fill, Haeil looked up to me and shrugged.  
"I have to get my blood somehow." He laughed.

With a sigh I looked down at the khajiit with first curiosity and then pity.  
Its face was starved and gaunt, carved into an expression of the purest shock. Obviously from Haeil's attack.  
Netch leather armour covered the khajiits body as it held a chitin short-sword in its hands tighter then a pastor of the nine divines.

With a sigh I took off the cuirass and short-sword and put them on, the Khajiit attacked us because he was desperate.  
And when bandits are desperate in an isolated area it's either a good sign or a bad sign.

But no matter how much I wanted to believe otherwise, I knew that there was something wrong. It hung in the air as Haeil and I continued walking along the bushy land around us.


	7. Chapter 1 part f

Haeil coughed loudly as we walked along. The road was practically dust but after nearly 3 days of walking down it we were used to it, the ground baked hard by the blistering sun above.  
I breathed in heavily as we walked on; my netch leather cuirass was slung against my shoulder because of the heat. Haeil was in front of me, silent as he heaved his huge tail against the road, I have no idea if he's enjoying the sudden warmth of is slowly dying inside that leather armour that he can never take off.  
"Furan" he hissed, pointing a finger directly in front of us. I laughed; hope rising in my chest as I saw what he did.  
Sadrith Amu said a small sign that was just poking out of the dust.  
"It's Telvanni land" I muttered, pulling my netch cuirass back onto me.  
"Telvanni?"  
"It's probably better if you stay here..."  
I heard Haeil sigh softly behind me.  
Within minutes in the town I was greeted by a pair of guards...guards? They barely looked older than 16! they were both dressed in loose farm clothes, one of them had a chitin cuirass on as well. They were wielding spears loosely in their ashen hands that shook while they spoke.  
"State your business...outlander!"  
_outlander...some things never change..._  
"My business is trading" I answered with a small sigh, one of the boys looked at me with a snarl,  
"You should leave this town alone...we have had nothing but trouble from you outlanders!"  
_typical Telvanni..._  
"I don't have time for this" I growled, beginning to move through them. One of them roared and lunged his spear toward me. I ducked my head and grabbed the spear, knocking it out of the mers hands and sending the other boy to the ground, his weapon rolling on the ground away from him.  
"Long spears are defensive weapons" I said with a wink, throwing it at his feet,  
"Remember that the next time you try to kill someone with it..."  
The both boys seemed to pale at this.  
"Ok outlander...we'll let you through just don't...don't cause any trouble..." the guard croaked, his voice nearly failing him. I bowed respectively and walked past them, feeling a little guilty but at the same time feeling like it was an accomplishment beating a pair of farm boys.  
The general store of Sadrith Amu had reached a stage where it was practically part of the landscape. The thick stone was a rusted red as it braved the sea air; the tiles above were covered in a rich yellow moss with Traven's cave written on a rotten wooden sign that hung from an iron chain.  
The door opened with a shallow creak without me even touching it, before me was Traven, the dunmer's grey hair was tied in loose braids against the back of his head, his razor red eyes scanning me up and down outside his shop.  
"What do you want?" he snapped before looking at the armour that was on my body.  
"Come in" he sniffed, walking quickly toward the counter.  
"So sorry I haven't had a customer in a while you understand..." the pathetic amount of supplies on his shelves pretty much proved it. I smiled and threw a small sack of coins on the counter, 600 drakes. Everything that I had left as well as a small bit of gold that was in the bandits pockets.  
The dark elves eyes widened as he counted the drakes, "Where...where did you get this much money?" he gasped, his grey skin now pale beneath the candlelight.  
"Adventuring" I laughed, pointing at a few of the things on the shelves to purchase, a pair of robes, a cloth backpack and some food..."The man smiled, "It's been years since we saw one of your folk around he..." he was cut off by a sudden knock on the door.  
A small dark elf came in; no more than 20 he held he bit on the edge of his sleeve nervously his short grey hair not really helping his incredibly sharp face.  
"Mr Traven" he asked with his voice quavering.  
"Is it about Olissia?" Traven asked softly, The man nodded quickly.  
"She won't get better; she's still so...so pale"  
Traven shrugged, "I'm afraid I can't help you son... I'm not really much of a healer..."  
_Lucky boy _  
"Is there any swelling?" I asked. The man looked confused but slowly he nodded.  
"Vomiting?"  
"Confusion?"  
"Sore limbs?"  
3 sharp nods.  
I walked over to the shelves, my hands hovering quickly over the ingredients...  
_Willow Anther...some grave dust... _  
With a smile I took out Haeil's mortar and pestle and began to mash the ingredients together, Traven and the young mer were looking at me with interest.  
I added a small bit of water from my satchel and poured it into the mortar, mixing it quickly with the edge of my short sword.  
By the time it was in the bottle it was a glowing grey.  
"Sounds like Rockjoint..." I said, handing him the potion.  
"make her drink a spoon of this every 2 hours for about a day, don't feed her too much but give her plenty of liquids..." The man smiled softly, taking it with a bow he left the room.  
Traven looked at me strangely, "You are the first kind outsider I've seen in years" he whispered.  
I opened my mouth to say something else before I noticed the shine of the setting sun on the horizon, _damn it, I only said I'd be gone for an hour... _

Haeil was waiting for me as when I left the village. "Have fun?" he chuckled as I threw him a pair of robes to hide his tail.  
"Heaps" I laughed as we began to continue our walk.


	8. Chapter 1 part G

_be wary of your reflection Furan... it holds the secrets of your soul..._

I blink back tears as I look at the river, it is nirns blood that is forever pulsing and moving along the lands. Never stopping or pausing, only moving in different directions.  
My reflection stared back at me today as my master's voice returned from memories that I thought I had buried. I had to admit that I was different.

My head that was shaved bald last time was replaced by an unbound waterfall of jet black hair. The Tang mo tribes believed that long hair was a symbol of bravery and strength and so after a few months with them I decided to let it grow.

My red eyes that was once so wild and lustful for adventure had reached a stage where they were tranquil; calm, as if they had seen too much. Memories stirred as my shaking fingers touched my face, 3 ripe scars against my cheek; I gained those trying to protect a small Tsaesci village from what they called the Boot-Khan. It was the size of a bear with the strength to match. Its head and neck were that of a crimson snake while the rest of its birdlike body was blazing with shining golden feathers that no blade could cut through.

It would talk to its victims with the voice of a young woman, leading them away from the village and into the shadowy forest before consuming them in a fit of unnatural hunger.  
I could still hear the monsters screams when I closed my eyes and my own to match stubble grew along my cheeks like a blanket, hiding the scars like a defiant shield.

"Furan...or is it Nuraverine? Are you going to keep looking at your reflection all day or are we going to get moving?" I turned around with a small grin.  
"Don't use my other name Haeil you know you can't pronounce it"

He just grunted in response, throwing me my rucksack with one fluid swing of his right arm. With a smile I caught it, strapping it to my back with a click.  
We were in forest land now for four days; the coast was abandoned as we began to move west toward Vvardenfell.

Trees stretched far above us, a forgotten sea of green and a rich rusty autumn red. Some the trunks were thicker then houses as they held leaves the size of face fans. Birds fluttered overhead like warrior poets, fighting and screeching with tragically beautiful songs, claiming the ancient skies for themselves as the danced in the air above us. The sky was their epic stage.

With every step we heard the small rustle of a frightened animal making its way deeper into the woods.  
That's the type of thing that I missed when I was on the sea, the wild and untamed beauty that you saw anywhere in Morrowind.  
"So what's the plan?" Haeil asked as I tore my eyes away from the treetops. I looked at him for a moment with my eyebrow raised as I thought about it. _Where exactly should we go? _

The Imperial city" I said finally after a few minutes.  
"We keep going west, reach the coast... take a ship to the other side of the mainland and then to Cyrodiil... The Emperor was the one who funded the Akavir trip...he'll want to know exactly what happened... as well as that argonian pirate ship that attacked us." I thought about it for a minute, remembering old Uriel Septim with his loose white hair and blue eyes that seemed to look straight through you, the type of stare of a man who has seen more than a mortal should.  
Haeil nodded with a sigh. "That's going to take another month...at least, but then where?" his voice was little more than a crackle now as the question began to set in.

I shrugged softly, "It doesn't matter." I whispered as we began to walk my tone bringing Haeil's voice to a sudden hush. Closing my eyes softly I began to listen around the forest, the boundless singing of birds and the sound of drops of water the size of puddles which fell down to the ground with the simple movements of creatures far above. So peaceful, the music the chirping until...

"AAAARRRRRRRGH" my eyes snap open as Haeil begins to move quickly before me.  
It was when I looked through the thick bushes along the edge of the road I saw the screams creator.

He was a Dunmer, his silvery grey hair running down to his knees as he fought three hooded warriors. They each wielded a long swords but the mer didn't seem to care as he fought with his bare hands, the crimson robes that wrapped his body moving quickly as he jabbed and punched his attackers.

Fire suddenly leaped out of the mer's hands as it wrapped itself like a whip over one of the warriors. I could feel the heat rub against my face as I watched the steel armour melt away before leaving a heavily burnt reptilian corpse.

_More argonians? This is just insane._

The other argonians took advantage of the time while their comrade slowly died, wrapping a bronze amulet over the mages throat; his screaming voice turning to a shocking silence. One of them raised his sword to finish the job before Haeil and I pushed through the bushes with a loud rustle.

One of the argonians stepped back as I took four strong steps forward with my short-sword drawn. Haeil wrapped his tail around the other, his fangs cutting through the steel as if it was made of scrib jelly. The two argonians screamed as they both hit the floor, their bodies landing with a soft thump.

Satisfied, Haeil moved over to the bodies, his hands moving through their pockets and satchels easier then water going into a bucket. With a sigh I turned to the mage who was lying on the floor with his eyes closed.

The robes he wore were made of silk, died the darkest crimson while the simple bronze amulet around his neck refused to come off, the strong smell of magic coming off it that made me feel a little dizzy.  
But it was then that I noticed it, a black snake that stretched along his right arm. Its mouth was open as if it was about to snap at something while its tail curled around his thumb.  
To most people it was known as the mages oath, a silent seal. But it was also the code of obedience, a symbol of loyalty to his masters.

The mage was a Telvanni.


	9. Chapter 1 part H

The dunmer was breathing heavily.

Our first job when the guards were killed was to remove the top of his robes to show the wounds. My eyes widened as I looked at his shaking figure, it was gripped with fever; the bronze amulet tied to his neck refused to yield. When you have fought others for long enough it isn't hard to spot the body of another warrior.

The mer's chest was criss-crossed with many small light scars, none of them were deep enough to cut muscle and thus none of them damaged his movement. Whoever this mage was whatever mistakes he had made in combat they were few and brief. There were several small gash wounds along his arms from fighting the guards earlier and the rope burns on his wrists flashed me every couple of minutes telling me that he had obviously been captured before...but by whom?

I guess we needed to wake him up first... "HAEIL!" I called as he rushed through the bushes with a handful of herbs in his claws. "I couldn't find any Wickwheat" he hissed before I opened my mouth, dropping the rest of the ingredients to the ground. I felt a little sorry for him, he had gone through a lot before we had even met and the stress of the last week was starting to show as his he mashed some ingredients together in his palms before wiping it on a damp cloth.

The mage gave a short sigh as the cloth touched his tainted forehead. He mumbled something under his breath. Bad dreams were common for fever victims; I guess it's just the minds way of coping.  
I nodded softly.  
Picking up the other ingredients I loosely began to look at them.

_Corkbulb Root… some Sweetpulp… a dash of chokeweed…_

My hand softly brushed over the dunmer's sweaty chest, pushing the contents of my mortar and pestle down his throat. With a cough his mumbling stopped.  
"Ok" I whispered.

Haeil wielded a needle better than any blade as it spun artfully between his fingers, the thread allowed itself to be pulled along as the perfect follower, through the dunmer's ashen skin as the wounds on his arms began to close up I smile softly, if he was awake he would probably need something to ease the pain; it seemed that the fever was good for something after all.

The fire crackled lazily beneath my fingers, the smell of cooking rat meat hanging in the air. My nose curled in disgust but there was little I could do about it, one of the first rules of an adventurer is that a picky eater wouldn't last a month out in the wild. I learned that when I arrived in Seyda Neen for the first time oh so long ago.

_**"Do you have any beef?"  
"Beef?" Arrille stared at me blankly with suspicion growing in one of his eyes like an over ripe fruit.  
"Are you trying to trick me outlander?"  
"Oh….no, no of course not….but what do you have to eat?"  
"Well I have some of the finest Scrib jelly, just made this morning. Only 12 drakes."  
He stressed the only part.  
My eyes sat on the sour green mush that he held up to me in a bowl.  
"I think I can go a few days without food" I muttered.  
"What?"  
"I said can do you have any armor for sale?" **_

Turning around I look at my patient, his eyes were open scanning the heavens above as if they held some answers for him. They didn't seem to as he turned to me, his eyes resting on the 3 scars against my cheek.

"Why did you save me?" he whispered.  
I shrugged, sitting beside him taking one of the rat's skewers away from the fire and handed it to him. "You were pretty badly beat up… I thought a Telvanni would appreciate the help."  
Whatever smile the dunmer had harbored while he was awake slid off his face,

"You aren't from around here…are you..."  
It wasn't a question.  
Instead I held out my hand, "I'm Furan" I muttered.  
"I'm Evo" the dunmer whispered without shaking my hand he instead looked at the crackling fire with his tired eyes, his man of grey hair dirty along the edges from the muddy floor.

"Would you be able to tell me what's happened? I haven't been here...in a while" Haeil began to make his way toward the fire, ripping the cooked rat about with his winter white teeth.  
Evo laughed before realizing that I was serious, "Morrowind is a hard place these days outlander" he muttered, chewing the end of his rat meat softly before looking at the stars.

"I think our troubles began with the Nerevarines disappearance. He left Morrowind for who knows where…. The Oblivion Crisis happened a year or two after that and unless you've been out of Tamriel for the last decade you must have heard of it!" his laughter cracked the evening silence as I sat there quietly, feeling the guilt painted across my face. "Vivec disappeared with the gates and then Black Marsh invaded… King Helseth as well as all the main leaders of house Telvanni and Dres were killed, shadowscale blades cut through them like a knife through scrib jelly…"

Haeil looked at me with an eyebrow raised, "Something tells me we won't be leaving here for a while…" he whispered, the fire crackled near his tail.

Evo spat into the fire, the sizzle from it breaking the silence.

"The Dark Brotherhood claimed Morrowind; members of the Morag tong fled, joined the brotherhood or were put into slave labor.  
Then the king heard rumors about the Nerevarine, began to hunt him down…burning villages and people…men woman and children were put to the sword or sent to the labor camps"  
"Isn't there any resistance?" Haeil asked. I nodded slowly with my eyes resting on Evo.

_How could I have let things get so bad?  
You didn't know…  
NO! Sul-Matuul told me that Morrowind needed me, I should have listened._

"There is a resistance" Evo muttered, silencing the voices in my head for the time being. He flung his arm to the west, his razor red eyes showing defiance against the trees that blocked his gaze.

"Follow the trail toward Vvardenfell, take a ship to Sadrith Mora and then keep going west…when they find you ask for Lock, he can help you."  
"When they find us?" I asked.

Evo just smiled.

"To be honest with you I think you shouldn't even bother trying, make your way to the imperial city get a room and have a future for yourself…there's nothing here anymore accept for ash and pain. I would prefer it if you both didn't die.. if it wasn't for you I would be slaving in swampland right now…or I'd be dead!" Evo laughed hoarsely

Haeil nodded softly and sighed, we talked some more but we kept away from the tender topic of the country, instead sending my mind swimming into the plans of the occupation of Morrowind, we needed to find Lock and if what Evo said was true, calling myself the Nerevarine openly could be dangerous to whoever was nearby…

With a chuckle Haeil stood up.  
"It's ironic Furan" he whispered, "You left Morrowind for adventure…it seems that she has been waiting for you."  
I nodded softly, turning my back toward the fire as the sound of Evo's snores took over my dreams and my night.


	10. Chapter 1 part I

"Fifty drakes or now deal" the boat captain squeaked with the shrill, mind numbing voice that could only belong to a wood elf.  
I gave a sigh and looked at him, part wishing there was another captain here and part wishing that I could push this boat master in the water.  
The bosmer looked at me bravely, but at his height he was actually just looking at my coin purse that was tucked away behind my cuirass. The captain was barely up to my shoulder, with flat grey eyes that hid behind a hook nose that was set at an awkward angle as if it was broken in the past.

I spat into the water and tried my best Vivec style accent. "Guar dung, I'll pay fifteen drakes... I mean how dangerous can a boat ride be?" my voice croaked, as I heard the grunt of Evo trying not to laugh. The wood elf traded his suspicious look for one of surprise, "There's daedra about Outlander, and I'm not risking my children's futures for a 'boat ride'"

Looking over at the sea of ghosts, I saw a thick mist hanging against the water tonight like a silver blanket. Shapes broke against the mist every now and then; the water repairing itself almost instantly after them. But were they just the waves crashing up... or something worse.  
"Thirty drakes" I said throwing the coins onto the boat before the captain could object. "If we get in any danger I'll give you another twenty." The bosmer nodded with a greasy smile before pulling up a long wooden plank twice his size to bridge us across to the boat.

"No short jokes Haeil" I muttered before the Tsaesci could open his mouth. "we don't want this bosmer pissed."Evo got onto the boat after us quietly. "To Sadrith Mora" I muttered to the wood elf who laughed to himself against the stern, "Crazy Bosmer" Evo chuckled to himself; playing with a small ball of light in his finger tip that was weaved from his own magicka.

Large monuments poked out of the water as we passed them, "Former gates" the captain whispered quickly as if it was a taboo to even think about them. The twisted stone and metal poked along the grey waters of the sea, where the ghosts got their name.  
Evo sighed and closed his eyes, "this will take a few hours at least." He muttered, lying back against the mast.

I smiled to the setting sun, letting my head rest against the wood of the moving ship.


	11. Chapter 1 part J

_I'm walking through the undergrowth, tree branches brushing past my limbs like the demented claws of a madman.  
My guide is ahead of me, a Tsaesci who moved shakily through the wilds as if he feared every shadow beneath him._

I tried my best to ignore it though; the jungles had enough dangers without adding imaginary ones to the mix.

A squat blue spotted fly fluttered lazily around us beneath the harsh sun, it was the length of my arm and covered with what seemed to be dozens of fiery red eyes.  
With the finesse of an acrobat the fly landed on a pale grey leaf the size of a dinner plate.

I blinked and the fly was gone… replaced by a sliver of green blood as the leaf curled around the bug that squealed as if it was burning in the very plains of oblivi-

"The tomb is not much farther," my guide hissed, nodding toward a group of bushes a few meters away. I smiled; thankful of the distraction.  
The coins jingled lazily in my coin purse as we travelled, making sure that my guide remembered why he was so far away from home.  
The Tsaesci stopped for a moment… from the way his shoulders were angled I knew it was a defensive position, his tail curled so that he was low down on the ground. I squinted over him to have a look at what was past the trees ahead before feeling my breath catch in my throat.

The natives called it the Zwinga-mallu, the stone demon and it lived up to its name. 20 feet tall, it held itself up with four stubby legs that stuck out like pillars, lazy green eyes scanning over the trees that it towered. 3 horns were scattered on the massive beasts head that was covered in thousands of plates the shape of sea-shells that were the size of a daedric cuirass. The natives claimed that not even pure steel could penetrate it, which made them it valuable.

Moving closer to us, it looked at the Tsaesci with hunger in its eyes, a slack mouth that hung open in a way that mouths generally should not be.

The Tsaesci took a deep breath.

Drew its sword.

And ran.

The Zwinga-mallu seemed unfazed as it stared at me instead, looking curiously at my ashen skin in such a way that I could tell that it was wondering how I tasted behind it. Running my tongue over my teeth I extended my hands, magicka summoned to my fingertips with a whisper and into the air in front of me with a thought.

Flames extended along the creature hungrily before evaporating almost instantly. I could feel the surprise on my face, but the creature's curiousity had left it, replaced by a fiery rage that consumed its piggy little eyes.

Then I ran.

Past the trees and through the long grass that stained the simple boots that were tied to my feet I could feel the ground tremble beneath me as I kept running. _**come on…come on!**___

My legs were getting tired but I willed them faster, rocks, bushes…more trees…

My lung were burning now, the ground approached me like an old friend as my body hit against it with a solid thump. I turned around in surprise… the beast was on the ground panting heavily….

There was a Tsaesci in front of it; a deep white light that had to be calming magic ran from his fingertips along the creatures back. With a smile he turned to me but by then I was practically….

_

"How strange.. I must say I've never seen anything like him…"

"Do you think it's really…him?"

I opened my eyes carefully to a blurred hut… there was two Tsaesci woman beside me, dressed in the blood red robes of a healer, there was also another Tsaesci there, with his back against the wall he looked at me with a smile.

"Sisters…leave us" he muttered with a hiss. The healers gave a short bow and left, their tails dragging softly behind them.

"I found you in the jungle?" he hissed in broken cyrodiilic, "Do you have a name?"

"Furan Saris…pleased to meet you" I smiled, replying in perfect Tsaesci, the creature looked at me in surprise before giving me a wide grin.

"Likewise stranger….only a great fool or a great warrior would battle such a monster… and either way you have my friendship. You may call me Haeilgraforath Ko Bazamorfidhack…. or if you prefer, simply Haeil."

With a grin I pushed myself out of bed.

_  
Entering Haeil's hut, I noticed just how much larger it was compared to the others in the village, swords of all kinds lined the walls, some of them I recognized but most of them I couldn't even imagine would work correctly in a humans 5 fingered hands.

Haeil entered the main room in the centre of the hut with a smile on his face, a little Tsaesci girl was by the fire,but began moving quickly beside him when she saw us, her blue scaled gleaming as Haeil picked her up and gave up a hug.

"How is my little Wanobe today" he whispered softly, gesturing for me to go to the large fire that was burning in the middle of the hut.  
Wanobe looked at her father with a toothy smile and pointed out toward the window, "I climbed that big Yesmet tree that's near the river!"  
Haeil laughed,  
"Really? I didn't know you were so brave!"

Wanobe puffed her chest out with courage

"I wasn't scared, you can even teach me how to fight now" She looked up at him hopefully,

"We'll talk about it after dinner" he laughed giving me a wink from across the fire as another Tsaesci with red scales brought some raw meat to the fire, she looked at him with gentle eyes, looking at me with a smile.

"You are the outlander…yes?" I nodded softly and with a chuckle she pushed a small mound of roasted meat near me.

Haeil raised a small glass cup "To Ser-Furan, the warrior who fought with the Tang-mo and stopped the red dragon!" he gestured toward the many braids that ran along my thick black hair.  
"I heard the stories from traders..." he added when he saw my dumbfounded expression.

I opened my mouth to say something but I was interrupted by a scream, the kind of sound that rips through your spirit like a cold knife, leaving only the fresh sting of silence in its wake.

Haeil pulled a katana from above the doorframe and nodded at me to follow him.

Outside, near the middle of the village I saw an old Tsaesci woman who I remembered was one of the healers who cared for me less then an hour ago.  
She was holding a dagger in her hand, her eyes awake with a demonic fury that followed us as we looked at her with horror.

"For Lord Dagon!" she roared before pushing the dagger into her chest, her body vanishing in a plume of blood red light.

Unless you've seen an oblivion gate for yourself it's impossible to truly describe it, The gate is shaped like an upside down U with a blood red sky hanging overhead, there's also a silence that surrounds it, the kind of silence that you hear when you know that you are going to die and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

We paused for only a moment, pausing often is the thing that kills most soldiers on the battlefield. Drawing my Tang-mo tanto I followed Haeil through the portal, and into the savage paradise beyond.

The Sigil Tower was a tribute to destruction, made of scrap metal it towered above an island surrounded by lava, blood sweeping down from its walls as a crimson waterfall that never seemed to end.

"You….will…not…get…my…Wanobe!" he roared!  
Haeil's eyes were wild, intense as he swung his blade around, steel meeting dremora skulls with sickening crunch.  
Exhaustion painted his face but he didn't seem to care, as more and more demonic blood covered him like paint.

Light glowed from above as I clutched the large stone in front of me, magic soared in my body and the world collapsed from beneath my feet.

I laughed when I hit Nirn's ground again, the fresh untainted air filling my lungs, my eyes were closed but I hung a smile on my face. I hadn't fought like that in years; challenges like this were so hard to come by…. "WE DID IT HAEIL! WE WON!"

I was answered by a sob.

My eyes opened softly to see the village around us in ruins, Haeil was in front of me and hunched over, crying at whatever it was that he held in his arms.

"No" I muttered as I stood up.

It was Wanobe.

It was his daughter. 

I gasped a mouthful of cold air, Akavir vanished from my mind and was replaced by Morrowinds thick salty air. Haeil was shaking me, sitting above me with his tired golden eyes.  
"We're here" he whispered. nodding toward the side of the boat.


	12. Chapter 1 part K

The sands crunched softly beneath my toes when I jumped out of the boat. The Bosmer boatmaster smiled and pointed toward some hills,  
"about 5 minutes walking and you'll find your 'Sadrith Mora'" he whispered.  
I nodded and the boat master cackled, his Bosmer voice following the boat while it steered away from land and back into the fog.

Evo sighed and pulled up his robes to stop them from getting wet,

"I'm making my way to Cyrodiil... this is your last chance at life friend."  
I shook my head head with a smile and placed my hand on Evo's shoulder,  
"It was a pleasure" I muttered, giving him the ceremonial bow of the Telvanni. right arm lifted and head bowed lower then your superior.

Evo laughed and stopped me with his hand.

"The pleasure was all mine Ser Saris, I'll see you in another life." Haeil shook his hand and handed him a few cold pieces and Without another word we went our seperate ways.

The hills seeming to move beneath my feet as I followed Haeil up along the grassy plains, Sadrith Mora was a good town, it should have some traders, invaders or no invaders.

Haeil sighed at the top of the hill, and I didn't notice why until I reached that point myself.  
Sadrith Mora was gone... well, not gone, the ground was covered in ash and soot with burnt structures pointing out of the black soil. Nothin grew along the ground showing that the attacklers put salt into the soil after they burnt it... the argonians really hated the Telvanni by the looks of things.

"Do you have a second plan?" Haeil mumbled, staring at the ruins of the once proud wolverine hall. It seemed to have been attacked and then pillaged for stone with the entire front facing the sea gone.

I opened my mouth tpo say something before I saw a shape move along the plains, "Do you see that?" I whispered, squinting my eyes as if it would somehow give me a better look. It was a person, no bigger then a boy and he was running away from us.

Haeil nodded to the boy and began to move.

Stones cracked beneath my feet as I ran behind Haeil, who could move pretty fast for something without a pair of legs. The boy began to scream, his body meeting and then vanishing behind some forest land, we leapt through the bushes.

And were greeted by 8 hooded men, each of them holding a net as they threw them on us. I grinned for a trap it was pretty well set up, so much so that they couldn't be just bandits...

An arrow whistled past my ear before one of them jumped on me, he smelt like an orc... I suppose there's something wrong you when you can recognize that smell.

The last thing I felt was the sound of my body hitting the floor with an unpleasent crack.  
the last thing I heard was Haeil shouting, the sound of his blades being unsheated.

Darkness crowded around me like an unwanted guest and the cold gripped me.  
But I could see her face again in my minds eye.

"Abigail." I murmered with a smile, I didn't know what was going to happen to me...but as long as I saw her as I did now with her unbound brown hair and emerald eyes, her right hand that moved softly against my cheek.  
I would not care.

_**Here ends Chapter One**_


	13. Chapter 2 part a

Chapter Two [i] Lock [/i]

[i] The wind was merciless that night as it lashed against the thick walls of Vivec, Abigail looked down at the waters below. She enjoyed the view from up here, it helped her forget everything. The hardships, the battles lost and the people that abandoned her. There was knock on the door. Abigail smiled to herself. [b] Not this again… [/b]

"Come in" she sighed, the door opening with a shallow creak. "Roderick, Fathis…what do you want?"

The dunmer and redguard behind her both turned a bright red, she didn't even have to turn around. "Our men caught some travellers up north, we were wondering if…"

"Are they spies?" Abigail cut Roderick short, making his blushing redguard face darken even more.

"Eh…no, we don't think so miss"

"Are they Fugitives?"

"We...we don't think so…"

Abigail turned around, her eyes fiery. "Then why are you wasting my time?" she growled. Roderick paused, speechless. Less than a decade ago they were in Suran, drinking, dancing and having fun. But the last ten years did a lot to Abigail, at nineteen she was still a girl with a pretty face and mischief in her eyes. But she had grown since then; her face now was beautiful, ladylike. Her emerald eyes were hardened from seeing her friends die and her voice was like tempered steel.

Once she wore dresses and loose fitting leather armour, now she was dressed in the attire that once belonged to an Ordinator, with a purple sash tied around her forehead to keep her lush brown hair out of her eyes.

Fathis smiled softly, "We are pretty low on men Abigail" he said slowly, "They could come in pretty useful…One of them is a Tsaesci."

"A Tsaesci?" Abigail whispered, interest showing in her eyes for the briefest moment. "Whatever" she murmured, giving a shrug before pointing at the door. Fathis and Roderick gave a bow and left the room slowly.

Roderick took a deep breath, "I hate it when she gets like that!" he wheezed. Fathis nodded in agreement. "Lock should have come with us… he knows how to talk to her."

"I don't think she's waiting for Lock." Fathis whispered

"What do you mean? oh" [/i]

When I finally woke up my body was sore, my feet and hands were numb and there was a warm, coppery taste in my mouth. Blood. "Just perfect" I muttered as I looked around. I was lying on a wooden stretcher with a sheet pulled tightly over the frame, the room around me was windowless but dozens of shelves lined the walls, each one filled with vials and potion bottles.

"You took quite a beating my friend" muttered a wheezy voice.

"Haeil?"

The Tsaesci stood up from a chair that was dipped in the shadows at the edge of the room.

"You were talking in your sleep… sounded like a nightmare."

I shrugged.

"I can't really remember"

Haeil smiled, "It was probably the medication…these guys have been pumping you with the stuff"

"These guys?" I asked

Haeil laughed, "The resistance Furan…. I'm a member of it now"

I looked at him strangely, "When did all this happen?"

"In about the week you were unconscious, when they tried to capture us I ended up beheading a couple of their men…it seems that the people here are just as blood thirsty as they are back home." His laughter rang across the stone room. Before I could open my mouth to ask something else the door opened and someone walked in.

She was a Bosmer, dressed in the blue robes of a mage; her hands were filled with dozens of pale grey scrolls. With a sigh she placed them on the table in front of her and looked at Haeil.

"Is he doing ok?"

"Of course Madeline…don't you trust me?" The mage-Madeline gave a grunt before turning to look at me. She was very young for a mage; her copper red hair was tied back into a ponytail revealing a pair of slender pointed ears. She had a light smile on her face but there was intelligence in her eyes as she scanned my arms and face, her gold pointed fingers checked my pulse and bruises.

"I've been in Morrowind for nearly 9 years and I never saw injuries like the ones you had ..." She said. Her sharp blue eyes were flicking from me to the book that was in her hands.

"9 years…" she sighed, "I swear to Akatosh if I ever see that swit Traven again, I'll make him wish that he avoided magic as a child!"

"Whos' Traven?" I asked

Madeline looked at me, "He's the Arch-mage of Cyrodiil or at least he was when I left…."

She put on a high pitched voice, like what little girls did when they insulted someone. "Go to Morrowind Madeline the guild needs your leader ship there, it'll be an adventure, think of all the spells you will learn…" She spat on the ground, "But noooo, one year I'm in Balmora and then I'm being harassed by argonians for being a witch. A WITCH! Can you believe it?"

"It happens a lot, just agree with her and we'll be fine" Haeil whispered softly. I nodded with a smile.

Madeline gave a sigh and wrote some thing down in her book. "I think it's time that you went down to Lock" she said, gesturing toward the door. Haeil nodded and pulled me out of bed. "Where are we going?" I whimpered, the cold air nipping at my feet.

"To see Lock."

"Who's Lock?"

Haeil looked at me with a smile, "Oh, you are going to love this."


	14. Chapter 2 part b

Haeil led me down the steps, the sound of my bare feet hitting against the cold stairs echoed around us, there was a door at the end, made of thick oak it creaked when Haeil opened it. "The war room" he muttered with a toothy smile.

The room was completely circular and windowless; the oil lamps that lined the circumference shone brightly, revealing a large map of Morrowind in the centre of the room. There was a man hunched over it.

"Lock" Haeil coughed, nudging me forward. The man-Lock turned around and my eyes widened.

He was a little small for a redguard, his dark skin shining under the harsh lamps. His thick black hair was bound into braids that hung down his back; a gold ring was on the end of each so that he made a ringing sound every time he moved his head. His stock body was wrapped in thick bonemold armour and he had an ebony claymore strapped to his back. There was a silver ring on one of his fingers which he spun around quickly as he stared at me.

"So you're awake" he croaked, his wild eyes returning to the map in front of him. I even took a moment to stare at the marvel myself. It was a map of Vvardenfell island, exact to the barest centimetre, small miniature trees were poking out of the ground, miniature people walking along the tiny villages.

"We have some talented mages here" he laughed as my eyes widened.

"Your friend told me everything about you." He whispered, gesturing toward Haeil who nodded.

"Jiub isn't it?" he whispered. I looked at Haeil with a scowl who gave me a small wink.

"Eh, yes it is...Lock" I said. The map truly was a masterpiece.

"Here's the deal recruit" Lock growled. "New faces make me nervous, and I just don't know how useful you are going to be...Do you know how we lose most of our members Jiub?"

I stayed quiet. It wasn't a question.

"We are the Nerevara Tong, named after the hero who came to Morrowind and freed us from the blight, he was a patriot and every recruit comes to us with dreams of being the Nerevarine recreated, does a stupid risk and gets himself killed." He looked at me now, his brown eyes were rich, but they held a wildness to them that would only belong to a man that has nothing left to lose.

"The Nerevarine was a great mer and that's it... don't try to become him and don't put the tong in danger... and we will get on beautifully." I nodded slowly, resisting the urge to say something.

Lock clapped his hands together, "Now recruit, it's time to see just how useful you will be..."

I shrugged, "I was in the Morag Tong sir" the sir part ended up sounding forced.

"I'm sure I'm pretty useful"

Lock smiled to himself and shook his head.

"We don't need assassinations Jiub" he muttered, "The Nerevara Tong is dedicated to helping the people and fighting against the Caldera laws..."

"The Caldera laws?"

If Lock was surprised then he didn't show it.

"They are rules that the argonian king put up to make us more...manageable" he said the last word with a sneer.

Lock held up his forefinger.

"The first law is the law of possession; a dunmer cannot own any property, ships, armour or weapons."

He held up his middle finger.

"The second law is the law of ownership. A dunmer cannot own a dog, guar or any animal that is worth more than one hundred drakes... meaning that if an argonian passes us on our prized horse he can offer one hundred drakes for it... and we have to accept it, not even sure what the lizards would want with an animal...unless they plan to eat it." He chuckled at that.

Lastly he held up the third finger.

"The third and final law is the law of knowledge, a dunmer cannot learn to read, write or use any magic at all... religion is also a part of this law meaning that the nine divines, tribunal and daedric shrines are pretty much erased from around here. "

Lock pointed to the map, "And that's what we do... we smuggle weapons, we send food to farmers who cannot eat the food they produce because they no longer own their land and we free slaves." Locks eyes darkened.

"Imperials and other races don't do much better, like Madeline. We save the mage's from slave labour or from being stoned to death. We also feed them and in return they create spells and enchant our equipment..."

There was a knock on the door and a small fat Redguard came in, "Sorry I'm late Lock" he huffed, his puffy red face even redder from exhaustion. "She was in one of her moods again..."

Lock laughed, "It's ok Roderick...this is the new recruit, Jiub" the redguard gave a smile and shook my hand.

"So, its caravan duty today isn't it?" Roderick asked, Lock nodded with a smile.

"Take Jiub and Haeil along with you, we should see what he can do" Roderick bowed and walked out of the door, gesturing us to follow.

"Jiub?" I asked Haeil with a growl.

"It seemed fitting" he laughed, "Evo did say that you were wanted by these people."

I gave sigh, wondering now what this 'caravan duty was'.


	15. Chapter 2 part c

"So...been in Morrowind long?" Roderick asked behind me.

"About a week." I said as we moved up the stairs.

"Oh...where did you come from."

"Take a guess" Haeil grumbled, making a gesture toward him as if to say, look at my skin.

"Oh" he laughed, although it sounded uncomfortable.

Madeline raised one of her eyebrows when we came in. "Hey sweetie, one ticket to the Balmora outskirts please" Roderick said with a wink.

"I'm not your 'sweetie'" she growled, slapping his forehead making him vanish in a plume of violet light.

"Can't we just go upstairs?" I asked with a smile when she placed her hand on my shoulder.

"No doors in this hideout...sorry" she laughed.

I never liked Guild guides.

Roderick was rubbing his head when I arrived; there was small bump on his plump forehead.

"Kitty has claws" he laughed to himself, "Although I think I should count myself lucky.. did you know the last time I said that to her she kicked me in the..."

"Hey Roderick" said Haeil, arriving in a violet flash.

"Oh...hey Haeil" Roderick paled as he looked at Haeil's snake like body.

"So what's Caravan duty?" I asked.

Roderick smiled and pointed out near Balmora's walls, it was a guar trailer, led by two argonian guards. "That's the caravan."

He dropped the rucksack he was holding onto the ground, the ring of weapons reached my ears as it hit the stones.

"And that's the duty."

I smiled, pulling out a pair of steel short-swords from the bag.

The argonians were both wrapped in steel armour, guiding a caravans wasn't the most exciting work in the world... but at least it was work, the dunmer moved quickly past them, scared to talk to them and scared to ignore them in case they took offence. All in all, Morrowind must be a very fun place for them.

Well not anymore... I thought as I drew my blades. "Remember, quick and clean" Roderick muttered, pointing at the guards, "If you can't kill them quickly then knock them out. If you can't knock them out then well...run" he smirked.

I jumped over the hill and ran the guards. The funny this was that Iron armour is more protective then steel, gaps were made in steel armour to make it more comfortable to the wearer so that they will be more likely to purchase it, but all it took was a blade in one of the gaps and.

The argonian spluttered as it felt a blade go straight through its upper chest, sending him to the floor with a crash.

Roderick looked at me with a smile, "Now take the armour off him." he muttered, taking control of the caravan. Haeil threw the other dead argonian away in disgust. Oddly enough two dunmer passed us by and chose to ignore it. "They know that if they cause at uproar more guards will come and they might punish them as well." Roderick muttered to me when he noticed my stare.

"And besides...we help them."

The caravan moved quickly away from Balmora, up the hills and into the wilds of West Gash.

There was a mage waiting for us at the end of one of the hills, his frame hidden behind a plain black robe.

"What took you so long?" he growled, his hands glowing with the blue of transportation magic.


End file.
